The Legend Goes That Jaya and Vijaya the Gatekeepers of the Celestial
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Sri Lakshmi Varaha demons by the Lord for the disrespect they showed to some visiting Narasimha Swamy sages. They were born as Hiranayakasipu and Hiranyaksha to the sage (Swayambhu Deity) Kasyapa and grew into mighty demon lord bent upon disturbing the peace of the world. The younger of the two, Hiranyakasha, seized the earth and carried it to another region. Lord Vishnu delivered the earth from the clutches of the demon by assuming the Boar incarnation [Varaha Avatara] Aggrieved by the death of his brother, Hiranyakasipu wanted to avenge his death. He added to his might the power of penance and began to punish the gods and sages, the devotees of Lord Vishnu. Lord Vishnu was once again prevailed upon to rescue the world from the menace of this demon. Then the Lord made one of his servants, Sumukha, to be born as the son of Hiranyaksasipu. This son of Hiranayakasipu, named Prahlada, became a devotee of Vishnu right from his birth and thus brought upon himself the wrath of his father. Hiranyakasipu tried to mend the ways of his erring son, but when he found him to be adamant, made him undergo several hardship. He made the Elephants trample over him and set poisonous against him. Prahalada was protected by divine grace and he stood firm. Hiranyakasipu, as a last resort, asked him servants to throw his son into the sea and place a mountain over him. His servants chose to drop Prahalada into the sea near the mount Simhadri with a view to place the mountain over him. But before they could complete their act, Lord Narayana rescued him by jumping over the hill and lifting up Prahalada from the sea. Simhadri is thus the place where the Lord rescued Prahalada. The form of Varaha Narsimha was assumed by him, at the The legend goes that Jaya and Vijaya prayer of his devotee Prahalada, who wanted to see both the aspects of the gatekeepers of the celestial abode of the Lord. The one by which he had already killed Hiranyaksha and the Lord Vishnu, were cursed to be born as other by which he killed Hiranyakasipu. According to the Sthalapurana, Prahalada was the first person to construct the temple around the deity. He accomplished this after his father's death at the hands of Narasimha but at the end of the life cycle [Krita-Yuga] the temple was neglected and began to decay. Even the deity was not taken care of and crests of earth slowly gathered around the image. But, at the beginning of another life-cycle. The Lord once again was discovered by Pururava of the Lunar Dynasty Pururava, with his spouse Urvasi, riding on an aerial chariot over the hills of the South were pulled down to the Simhachala by a mysterious power. He discovered the Lord on hill lying imbedded in crests of earth. He cleared the earth around the image of the Lord. then he was addressed by the Akasavani not to expose the image but cover it with sandal paste. It also added that the Lord should be worshipped in this form, and only once in a year, on the third day in the month of Vysakha, his Nijaswarupa can be revealed. Acting under the instructions of Akasavani the king applied over the image an amount of sandal wood paste, which is equal to the earth he had removed, worshipped the deity and built the temple once again around the image. The temple continued to flourish ever since. Thus Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Varu is the presiding Deity of Mount Kailas of Simhachalam. The temple is located at a distance of about 16 Kilometers to the north of Visakhapatnam and 800 feet above the sea leavel. Pilgrims in large number are visiting this temple particularly on Saturdays and Sundays and from April to June and the Pilgrimage during other seasons is not less. The important festivals are the annual Kalyanam, which will be celebrated on Chaitra Suddha Ekadasi i.e., in the month of April / May every year. Even to this day also to give credence to the traditions contained in the STHALAPURANA, CHANDANA YATRA festival is being performed on the 3rd day of the bright half in the month of Visakha (Akshaya Thrutiya). On this day, the sandal wood paste which covers the image is removed and the NIJASWARUPA is shown to the devotees. Thousands of Pilgrims gather at the temple, for darsan on this day, as it is believed that DARSAN of Nijarupa is sure to obtain for them, salvation or MOKSHA. .